Allysenie

In March (my husband myself & my 12 yr old daughter) have 14 days in SI NZ with some set times [already booked overnight boat cruise in Milford Sound & want to spend 3 days at the end of our trip with friends who live in Nelson). I can't seem to make it all work without long drives and feel like I'm missing something grand! May be our only chance to travel to NZ.

(Day 1& 2) Fly into Dunedin where my son is studying at the Uni. Arrive early afternoon. Spend 2N. See Town & Penguins. [Hotel ideas]?

( Day 3) Drive to Te Anau via Southern Route. Where to stop for night on Southern route?

(-Day 4) Continue drive along southern route to Te Anau. Te Anau 1N. Uni Student meets us.
( Day 5 ) Drive to Milford Sound (already booked cruise)- overnight cruise is back to harbor by 9:30AM following morning.

HELP ---After cruise plans are up in the air. We want to see Queenstown, Mount Cook & swim with dolphins/whale watch in Kaikooura. Need to be in Nelson on Day 11 bc we have friends we will stay with for 3 days.

( Day 6 -7) Drive to Queenstown. stay 2N? [want to jet boat - what else isa must]? [still looking for a place to stay. Better to only do 1N in Queenstown?
(-Day 8& 9 ) Mount Cook? [2 nights in Mount Cook or 1]
(W Day 10) Then LONG drive to Kiakoura? [better to only do 1 night in Mt Cook & break up drive to Kasikora or 2N in mt Cook & long drive to Kaikora?}
(Th-S Day 11-14) Nelson. Day 14 fly home.

Tanks for any advice!!

Diamantina

I live in Dunedin, and I'd recommend accommodation at St. Clair Beach (ocean views, open-water heated saltwater pool, surfing beach, good restaurants/cafes, 15-minute drive or direct bus ride to Uni).

I've answered questions about Dunedin accommodations before, so you can read a more detailed response here (for a group that wanted to look at wildlife):
http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...mmodations.cfm

I'd also recommend the Elm Wildlife Peninsula Encounters Tour. They'll pick you up from your accommodation, drive you to the Otago Peninsula, take you through private land to the peninsula's best wildlife viewing sites. Their guides are super-knowledgeable. Some walking on steep slopes is required, unless you do their "lite" tour, which saves you some climbing. Reviews here:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attrac...d.html#REVIEWS

Please be aware that the 7.8 earthquake of Nov. 14, 2016, lifted Kaikoura's seabed, which has affected the times whale watch cruises and dolphin swims can sail. Currently, they can't sail low to mid-tide because the depth of the water is too shallow. Please continue to check their websites:
http://www.whalewatch.co.nz
http://www.dolphinencounter.co.nz

I understand you won't be able to change your overnight Milford Cruise and that your son will be meeting you, so the first five days of your itinerary are set. Given these fixed dates, you wanted to stay somewhere along the SSR between Dunedin and Te Anau. My guess is you mean the Catlins. I would stay in Porpoise/Curio Bay, stopping at Nugget Point Lighthouse (and Roaring Bay penguin hide) along the way. Nugget Point is a 90-minute drive from Dunedin; Nugget Point to Curio Bay would be almost two hours without stops (impossible to not stop). If you'd like to make things simpler and cut down on driving, just stay at Kaka Point, which is near Nugget Point Lighthouse, then drive to Te Anau the next day.

Here are some useful links that can help you decide where to stop along the way based on your interests. You'll have to be picky!
http://www.curiobay.co.nz/files/sout...-route-doc.pdf
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/par...rpoise-bay.pdf
http://www.southernscenicroute.co.nz
http://www.catlins.org.nz
http://www.catlins-nz.com/scenery.html
http://www.catlins.org.nz/index.php?/site/twb_trails
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-rec...-tokata-walks/

Too many interesting spots and scenic short walks from Dunedin to Curio Bay, including:
Purakaunui Falls, small but photogenic.
Lost Gypsy Gallery, a gallery of wonderfully quirky found-object assemblages.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attraction_Review-g…
Florence Hill scenic overlook.
Cathedral Caves, which can only be visited within two hours of low tide. It's also closed if the weather is poor or if the track is not accessible, so you’ll have to keep checking its website, or enquire at the Owaka I-Site (Caltins tourism office). There is a modest visitor charge, see:
https://www.cathedralcaves.co.nz
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-rec...al-caves-walk/
Then, only a short distance away, the turn-off for Mclean Falls and the Whistling Frog Cafe.

If headed to Porpoise/Curio Bay, continue on Chaslands Highway to Waikawa.
From Waikawa, follow Waikawa-Curio bay Road to Porpoise and Curio Bays.

Porpoise Bay is home to a few Hectors Dolphins from about November to April. Curio Bay is home to a fossilised forest (dates back 180 million years to the middle Jurassic Period) and a Yellow Eyed Penguin colony.

From Curio Bay, you'd have two choices of how to get to Te Anau. You could continue to follow the SSR. Or you could drive through Gore (faster).

My personal pick for the most spectacular sites along the Catlins, are Nugget Pt. Lighthouse, Curio/Porpoise Bay, Cathedral Caves, and Florence Hill Lookout. I'm not even mentioning forest walks, though if you go to Cathedral Caves, you'll walk through a bit of forest to get down to the beach.

I think the only way of fitting it all in. would be to fly from Christchurch to Nelson on Day Eleven. Even then, you'll be rushing. Yes, it would be a long drive from Mt. Cook Village to Kaikoura. According to AA Drive Distance Calculator (https://www.aa.co.nz/travel/time-and...ce-calculator/), 6.5 hours.

Is accommodation still available in Mt. Cook Village or nearby Glentanner for your dates in March? Because accommodation is limited there and it's an increasingly popular destination. You might want to check.

Diamantina

You wrote, "I can't seem to make it all work without long drives and feel like I'm missing something grand!"

You'll miss many "grand" things, but I think you'll still be overjoyed at the "grand" things you are certain to see.

paulg

Why not drive straight from Dunedin to Te Anau and get an extra night either in Dunedin or Te Anau? Or did you want to spend more time exploring the Southern Route? Given that you are that far south for a good chunk of the trip, I'd skip Kaikoura, as much as I loved it. This way you can spend your remaining 5 days in QT, Wanaka and Mt. Cook and then fly QT to Nelson. And you will be motived to go back for another vacation and see what you missed!

paulg

Re: Queenstown, there is no lack of things to do, and you could easily fill several days there if you wanted - jet boating, bungie jumping, ziplining, lake cruise, QT Gondola, hiking, paragliding, sky diving, drive to Glenorchy, Arrowtown, etc. etc. etc.

Diamantina

Another option for seeing penguins in Dunedin would be Blue Penguins Pukekura at Taiaroa Head. So you could do this instead of the Elm Tour. On the Elm Tour, you'd see Yellow Eyed Penguins, at Pukekura, Little Blue Penguins.
https://bluepenguins.co.nz
https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attrac...th_Island.html

Because this simpler tour (focused on just penguins and on one spot) takes place later in the evening, you'd have the whole day free to see the city. You didn't mention if you'd have a car for Dunedin, but you would need a car to get to Taiaroa Head or have to take a Tiki Tour:
http://albatross.org.nz/otago-penins...blue-penguins/

Taiaroa Head is also home to the Royal Albatross Colony, the Southern Hemisphere's only mainland albatross colony. You can often see albatrosses flying above the colony (they're much larger than the many seagulls you'll see). You'd have to get there earlier than the penguin tour to see them. They look like this:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native...batross-toroa/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaT2WhvucpY

You'll need to dress warmly for the Otago Peninsula and don't forget your wind and water resistant jacket.

Diamantina

I'd agree that it would be best to skip Kaikoura, paulg, as it's out of the way and far, because they could these freed-up days to see more of the south, because whale watch and dolphin swims are more limited in number, and because even if Allysenie and family were to get on one of these few scheduled trips, it still could be cancelled due to poor sailing conditions.

There's a good chance of seeing bottlenose dolphins on the Milford Sound overnight cruise.

Allysenie

Thank you so much. Looks like the best idea is to skip Kiakoura. Any other place on our itinerary where we could swim with the dolphins. I promised my 12 year old I'd try to make it work. Also like the idea of flying from QT to Nelson. Booked the last room in Mount Cook Village at the Hermitage Hotel. had to book on Booking.com to find he room. Anyone have any issues with that? I heard SSR is worth the drive to get to Te Anau. Thanks for all the advice.

I think the trip is coming together - now back to work.

Thanks.

paulg

I think there are good dolphin swimming tours near Picton (Marlborough Sounds) based on our previous research. That would be a couple hours from Nelson, but could be a nice day trip if you have time while visiting your friends.

Diamantina

Depends on your itinerary. If you fly out of Queenstown, then not so convenient, but if you continue from Mt. Cook Viilage to later fly out of Christchurch, then you can swim with Hector's Dolphins in Akaroa on the beautiful Banks Peninsula, one hour, 20 minutes south of Christchurch. These endangered dolphins can only be found in NZ waters. Akaroa is also home to the White Fiippered Little Penguin.
https://blackcat.co.nz
http://www.penguin.org.nz/white-flippered-penquin.html

Akaroa is about a 5-hour drive from Mt. Cook Village, with a short stop. This is a link to a detailed map of Canterbury, that'll show the route from Mt. Cook Village to Akaroa, then Christchurch.
http://traveltrade.newzealand.com/en...anterbury-(1)/

I'm fairly certain that flights from Christchurch to Nelson will cost half as much as flights from Queenstown to Nelson.

Of course, this route will cut the time you can spend in Central Otago (Queenstown, Wanaka).

Picton isn't on your route, unless you go there with your Nelson friends, as paulg, suggested. Picton is attractive and you can take Queen Charlotte Drive between Nelson and Picton. But I don't think you'll have a shortage of other things to see and do over 3 days in the Nelson area.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Porpoise Bay in the Catlins is home to a small population of Hector's Dolphins part of the year. When they're close to shore, you're free to get in the water, but you are prohibited from approaching them, chasing them, or touching them (remember, they're endangered). But it's not unusual for them to swim close to swimmers or kayakers, as they're curious. They're not always around, though, as they sometimes go farther out to feed. You'd need wetsuits and you'd need to be a fairly confident swimmer. I also wouldn't get in the water unless there were lots of other swimmers in the water.

I've always been happy just to watch them surf the waves from Porpoise Bay's beach.

As for whale watching, I've seen far more whales on any of my whale watching trips off the coast of California, than on my one whale watch from Kaikoura. In all, it was worth it because I'd never before seen sperm whales (in California, it's mainly greys, humpbacks and blue whales). On the other hand, the Kaikoura dolphin swim was very memorable, as we were surrounded by hundreds of dolphins and the Dusky Dolphins of Kaikoura are very playful and acrobatic. It was a delight. Something to look forward to on your next trip.

paulg

Diamantina, completely agree about the sperm whales ... we only saw three (I think that was actually a good number for one trip), but it was the only chance we had to see sperm whales so it was amazing.